After School

– July 24, 2009Posted in: Girl Group

After School 03

After School (애프터스쿨) is a South Korean girl group. They are managed by Pledis Entertainment, the same management company that manages singer Son Dambi. After School debuted on January 17, 2009 with their first dance song, “Ah.”

A majority of the members in After School have been back-up dancers for Son Dambi as well as for other artists before debut. Park Ga Hee, After School’s leader, has been seen as a back-up dancer for artists under both SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment, most notably for BoA. Ga Hee was also part of a Korean American girl group called S.Blush, whose first digital single peaked at #2 at the Billboard Hot Dance Chart. In 2008, Park was featured in Son Dambi’s “Bad Boy” music video as a rapper, and Kim Jung Ah was featured in Son Dambi’s performances as a back-up dancer. She was also a member of the previous girl group “Kis Five”, which debuted in 2005 with the song “Show Time” from their “First Kiss” singles album. Lee Jooyeon was featured in Son Dambi’s “Crazy” performances. She appeared in December 27th 2008 on MBC “Introducing Stars Friend” as Son Dambi’s friend.

The girls, as a group, made an unofficial first appearance on December 29, 2008 at the SBS Song Festival ‘S’, performing “Playgirlz” with Son Dam Bi. The days before After School’s debut, Pledis Entertainment officially announced that the group’s music concept is heavily influenced by the Pussycat Dolls, and that they “will be a type of group that Korea has never seen before.” On January 15, 2009, Sony BMG released a 30-second teaser video to the web, reaching 10 thousand views on the first day.